Laparoscopy or keyhole surgery is a procedure that enables a surgeon to access the inside of your abdomen without making a large incision. This is performed via an instrument called a laparoscope.  A laparoscope is a small tube with a light and a camera on it and allows the clinician to see inside your abdomen on a television monitor. It is sometimes used to inspect the tissues to check whether an operation is required and to plan the details of the procedure. It can also be used to perform an operation in a minimally invasive way - when this is used for oesophagus surgery it is called a minimally invasive oesophagectomy or MIO.

There are several benefits to having a procedure using this technique, such as a shorter stay in hospital and a quicker recovery than an open operation.

You will have a general anesthetic for this procedure and may even be discharged on the same day if it is being used as a diagnostic test.